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High Sierra: Mt. Gayley at dawn. 12,000 ft. elevation.

(Looking southeast over the White-Inyo Range toward Death Valley...this is a 55 year old Kodachrome slide.)

Well, I've been bending your ear about Death Valley for quite a while.
Now let me blather a little about the High Sierra.

The Sierra Nevada Range is the creator of Death Valley and many more thousands of square miles of desert in eastern California and Nevada. Forming a barrier from 11,000 to 14,500 ft. high, it catches much of the moisture rolling in from the Pacific Ocean, throwing a gigantic "rain shadow" to the east.

In California, mountain lovers refer to the Sierra Crest as simply "the high country." It is exquisitely beautiful. Though now, at age 83, I'm not backpacking any more, I was lucky to spend a significant amount of time there in my youth.